<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.17104" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY style="MARGIN: 4px 4px 1px; FONT: 10pt Tahoma"><SPAN style="FONT: 10pt Tahoma; COLOR: #000000"><FONT size=3>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">In This Issue:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">1. Heritage Excellence Award Nomination Deadline Friday<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">2. Benton County Museum Opens Common Courage Exhibit<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">3. Traveling Exhibit Program to Focus on Bicycling in Jackson County<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">HERITAGE EXCELLENCE AWARD NOMINATION DEADLINE FRIDAY<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Do you know an individual, organization or project that has made an outstanding contribution to preserving Oregon’s heritage? Only a few days remain to nominate them for an Oregon Heritage Excellence Award. Nominations are encouraged for exceptional and commendable work with special consideration given to the development of new ideas, approaches and innovations in heritage-related activities. The awards will draw public attention to important heritage efforts in Oregon and to raise the quality of heritage-oriented activities. Recipients will receive their awards during a presentation at the 2012 Oregon Heritage Conference on April 27 in Salem.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">The deadline for nominations is Jan. 13. For Award information, including past recipients, or to download the nomination application, visit </SPAN><U><SPAN style="COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><A href="http://www.oregonheritage.org/"><FONT color=#800080>www.oregonheritage.org</FONT></A></SPAN></U><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> . Contact Cara Kaser by phone (503) 986-0670 or email <A href="mailto:cara.kaser@state.or.us">cara.kaser@state.or.us</A> with questions.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">BENTON COUNTY MUSEUM OPENS COMMON COURAGE EXHIBIT<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">“Common Courage”, an exhibition of women's history that exemplifies many of the experiences and accomplishments shared by Benton County women over the past century, will open during a reception from 4 – 5 p.m., Jan. 13 the Benton County Museum, 1101 Main Street, Philomath. Commemorating the 100<SUP>th</SUP> anniversary of women's suffrage in Oregon, this year-long exhibition covers politics, education, occupations, fashion, and athletic opportunities, and honors Benton County women in uniform. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For more information, call (541) 929-6230 or visit <A href="http://www.bentoncountymuseum.org/">www.bentoncountymuseum.org</A> . <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">COMMUNITY FORUM TO FOCUS ON BICYCLING IN JACKSON COUNTY<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Interested in the history of bicycling in Jackson County? The Southern </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Oregon Historical Society (SOHS) and the Ashland Center for Creative Change will present a Community Forum on bicycling in Jackson County from 7 – 9 P.m., Jan. 18 at the Ashland Library, Guanajuato Room, 410 Siskiyou Blvd., in Ashland. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">What is changing about bicycling today? What’s driving these changes? Are any of these changes unique to Jackson County? This stimulating workshop will begin with an engaging discussion of current concerns to identify relevant exhibit topics. Experienced exhibit planner, Alice Parman, will lead the group through the process of discovering the history behind the issues and identifying community resources that can help develop a meaningful exhibit. The forum will result in a topic about bicycling for the next “History: Made by You” exhibit.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">“History: Made by You” is an interactive program designed to engage the community in the creation of traveling exhibits about issues of local importance and to explore the roots of these issues. SOHS hosts public forums throughout the region to engage the community in conversations about topics such as jobs, education, and land development. From these conversations, forum participants choose a topic as the focus of a traveling exhibit. Volunteers from the community, guided by the professional staff at SOHS, help create the exhibit through conducting research on the historic roots of the issue, collecting photographs, and selecting artifacts. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">For more information on the forum, or if you would like to request that a </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">public forum/traveling exhibit come to your community, please contact Amy </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Drake at the Southern Oregon Historical Society at <U><SPAN style="COLOR: blue">amy@sohs.org</SPAN></U> or (541)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">773-6536 ext. 1006.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For more information about SOHS, call (541) 773-6536 </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">or visit <U><SPAN style="COLOR: blue"><A href="http://www.sohs.org/">www.sohs.org</A></SPAN></U> .<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>-----------------<BR>Save the dates for the 2012 Oregon Heritage Conference: April 26 - 28!<BR><BR>Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission.<BR>Contact us by emailing heritage.info@state.or.us .<BR></FONT></SPAN></BODY></HTML>